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So Cryptic, the studio behind Champions Online and Start Trek Online, got hacked. These stories about major game developers getting hacked may be a dime a dozen now, but this one is so special I feel like I should give these guys a helmet and some crayons. You see, Cryptic was hacked back in December 2010, well over 16 months ago, but they just realized that now.

As an MMO player who has tried both their products and hasn’t been particularly thrilled by them, I don’t hold Cryptic in a very high regard. They try hard, and I am certain there are a few people who are genuinely committed to making games that people will play and want to enjoy. But somewhere along the production cycle, someone gets lazy, or a good idea is implemented awfully, or a feature that could make or break the game is screwed up, and you just cannot bring yourself to trust the studio again. Champions Online launched two different versions on launch day. The first one was close to the final beta. A launch day patch completely revamped everything though, a faux pas that I never really got past. As usual I am digressing.

My point is that I don’t trust Cryptic and believe that they prioritize profits over customer satisfaction and “fun”. But even this, this is just ridiculous. Come on guys, for 16 months your loyal customers have been playing your games, only to be told today that their information may have been compromised well over a year ago because you electronic locks had an expiry date of, well, 16 months ago? Disgraceful!